Her Gabriel
by Ziha Rain
Summary: A Rayne story. After Miranda the Alliance offers to repair the damage their experiments caused to River’s brain. But what do they want something in return?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**D**espite Simon's need to fix River, he couldn't help. He hadn't been taught how to treat the problems she was dealing with and there was no one he could to ask for help

**N**one of the professors whose lectures he had endured (before graduating in the top three percent from med cad) covered how to fix the kind of trauma inflicted upon her. How could they? Very few people knew the medical technology being used existed and they were keeping it quite. Everyone else believed that a medical advancement of this type was nothing more then an unbelievable aspiration.

**T**he men who facilitated her escape had been of no real help to her brother. They only told him how to free her. The most basic details of her imprisonment at the academy were kept classified. Their secretiveness angered Simon but he kept his mouth shut. He had no choice. He couldn't afford to lose their goodwill. After he saw what was being done to her, he decided they could keep their secrets, as long as they continued to help him keep River free and safe.

**O**f course the doctor in charge of the experiments done on her hadn't told Simon anything useful. He mentioned that she experienced moments of clarity and that they were hoping to improve upon them. But he didn't explain how they were planning to do it. He may have been guilty of arrogance and conceit while bragging about the excellent job he did to his superiors. But he wasn't stupid enough to explain to anyone how someone else could possibly do his job. So all he did was give Simon the false hope, 'that one day he could find a way to cure her'.

**A**s for River, she faced the sad truth when she awoke from her deep sleep and crawled into Serenity's cargo-bay. There was no longer any hope for her recovery. What little hope she had, ended along with her captivity at the academy. And she couldn't go back, wouldn't go back. Not even her sanity was worth the risk that hell-hole posed to her.

**Y**es, she knew every detail of the surgery the doctors had to perform in order to repair her damaged psyche. She knew all the risks and best possible outcome. She would not have been completely cured of the mental instability she was suffering. But the surgery would have provided a way for her to deal with both her psychic and lethal abilities.

**R**iver could explain the outcome of the procedure it to herself. Simply put, 'if she had the surgery she would be able to live her life as a circus freak. If she didn't, she would spend her life in a living night terror. The simplicity of it always made her laugh (she had always had a sarcastic sense of humor) but Simon wouldn't find it funny. And even with her genius mind she couldn't find the words to explain it in any other way.

**E**ven if she could have explained it, she wouldn't have. What could she say, there isn't a medicine in the verse' that can help me. The doctors at the academy had a lot of other minds to toy with before mine. And all that playing helped them design a treatment to repair my amygdala. Unfortunately, the medical instrument needed for the repair is one of a kind, worth billions of credits and hid in the vault at the center of the academy that is guarded by other subjects like me.

She never wanted Simon to know the truth. If he realized that she would have received the help she needed had he had waited a few days longer to rescue her. That the treatment to cure her existed but they couldn't get to it. After everything else he sacrificed for her, it would devastate him. Or even worse, be the cause of her first real family to being destroyed.

It wasn't hard to envision Mal executing a poorly planned raid on the academy to retrieve the instrument. And his foolproof plan failing as skeptically as all his plans did. Only they wouldn't be dealing with people denser then them. Serenity's crew would be fighting against the most brilliant and deadly minds in the verse'. And would have no one on in the inside to help them. It wasn't worth the danger to any of them.

**S**o she decided to keep quite. No one else should have to morn the loss of what could have been and she wouldn't let them be hurt. She was the way she was, and there was no changing it.

Then Miranda happened and there was hope again.

………………………………


	2. Promises

**Promises**

**Chapter One **_of_** Her Gabriel**

**E**ven though the operative cancelled the kill order, Serenity's crew was placed under arrest. The Alliance Soldiers wanted to hold them while they could figure out how to handle the situation. A few of the more hardened members of the crew (those with a fight till death mentality) thought about fighting back. But didn't. The fact that most of the crew couldn't walk wasn't a consideration. After what River had done to the Reavers nothing seemed impossible. But they had lost too many friends and loved ones and were not willing to lose any more. As much as it disturbed them. They knew the doctors stationed on the Alliance Cruiser were their only chance for survival. So instead of fighting they acted like an entity with one thought. With no spoken words between them. They shared a few sad smiles and started to help each other follow the orders they were being given.

The soldiers thought that the crews' easy compliance proved they had stopped fighting. But nothing could have been farther from truth. They hadn't stopped.. "After all"… …a barely conscious Mal whispered to Jayne before being carried out on a stretcher… …"we can fight our way free after were better. Jus' keep River safe. Don't let'em take her, Jayne. Please"!

Jayne was forced to stand up from were he was kneeling beside Mal when the Med-techs started to pick up his stretcher. He growled out..."wait, I need to speak wit' him"...then stooped down to speak softly into Mal's ear... "Don't worry none. The crazy and me, will be fine and wantin' for you, all of you when the docs are done. Promise on my ma. We all done good today, Mal. Shepard woulda been real proud". He reluctantly let go of Mal's hand as the troops started to carry him onto the Alliance cruiser, then with a deep breath, started to look for the moonbrain.

River sat in the corner trying to make herself so small she would disappear. Hiding was something she could always remember doing. Even before the academy she would hide from her parents, praying they wouldn't find her until her brother came home. At the academy, after she had stopped praying, she still made herself small when ever she wasn't restrained. It was the only to block out the white ice cold light that chilled her to her bones.

She knew hiding from the soldiers was pointless. They would find her and take her back to the academy. And she wasn't going to resist. Her sanity may not have been worth her returning but the lives of her entire family were. She wouldn't risk their anger anymore, not when it could cause them to treat her family cruelly. But it gave her comfort to do something familiar. So she stayed small and waited.

Jayne almost called out for help when he saw her in the corner. At his first glance he thought she was dead. That she must have died from an injury one of the Reavers inflicted. Then he noticed her rocking back and forth.

It would have came as a surprise to most that he had enough compassion in him to know that she was terrified and needed to be comforted. But he did. So he did what he always did when someone needed emotional support. He started looking around him for someone to be comforting. She needed Simon or Kaelee, even Inara to help her.

With dread he realized, they were all being treated and drugged. Possibly dieing and leaving him here to deal with the crazy. (His palms were starting to sweat)

He couldn't help her. (He becoming was hot)

He did know how. (So hot that he started to pull his t-shirt away from his neck)

He was going to hurt her and break his promise to Mal. (His breathing was becoming labored)

He didn't want to break his promise to Mal. (He was starting to seeing spots)

He didn't want to hurt her. (The spots were actually starting to move)

She saved them. (The spots were twirling in front of him and his body was trying to move closer to them)

She saved him. (He had to bend over and rest his arms on his knees)

He owed her his life. He owed the crazy... ...His thoughts were ended by the softest hands her hand ever felt running down the side of his face. Someone was trying to comfort him and he responded without thought. He grabbed the hand touching him and brought it to his lips. When he finally looked at it he realized it was covered in blood. Reaver's blood and it belonged to a smiling little crazy person who was the most amazing fighter he had ever seen.

And she was talking to him, telling him to...to... do something. He wasn't sure, doubted it mattered because after everything he had done before Miranda she was smiling at him, touching him, forgiving him. And he was sure Mal was going to be proud of the good job he was doing with comforting and protecting... ...Protecting.

He was supposed to be protecting her. And they were standing were any one could she her. He reacted by growling... ..."Good god! Are ya crazy! Someone gonna see you. Get behind me". She giggled as he pressed her back into the corner and blocked her from view with his big body.

Jayne chose to ignore how happy River snuggling into his back made him. He chose to forget how her little hands felt when she pulled his shirt up to touch his skin. He chose to over look the fact that he understood her when she whispered..."I'm Rip Van Winkle"...and concentrated on keeping her safe.

Thank you for the reviews. I didn't mean to write Jayne like he was stupid, so I softened his accent a lot. I wanted to write what he speaks with an accent to separate it clearly from his thoughts. If it does work let me know.

Gabriel is an Angel in the bible. He was sent by god to bring people good news and protect them while they fulfilled his will. It will make sense, promise.


End file.
